A bi-weekly online publication of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan www.mfa.kz Issue # 81 Tuesday, 27 July 2010 [PDF]

Kazakhs Hail Brilliant Victory for Contador, Team Astana at Tour de France

(Kazakh youngsters eager to exceed successes of the current generation of Astana)

Kazakhstan, Russia to Construct New Nuclear Power Plant in Aktau

(The country seeks to use its uranium resources to meet power shortages)

Kazakh Authorities, NGOs Cooperate on Protecting Labour Migrants’ Rights

(Presidential commission, local authorities work on joint project with civil society)

Burabay: Beautiful Lakes, Emerald Forests, Fresh Air, Comfortable Hotels

(Granite outcrops, pine and birch forests in three hours of driving from Astana)

Kazakhs Hail Brilliant Victory for Contador, Team Astana at Tour de France

Astana cycling team’s rider Alberto Contador won the 2010 Tour de France on Sunday after the 20^th and final stage of cycling’s premier event. The Tour’s winner in 2007 and 2009, Contador finished in the overall with an advantage of 39 seconds over his main rival Andy Schleck of Luxembourg, with Denis Menshov of Russia earning the third place.

Millions of fans around the globe, with hundreds of thousands of those in Kazakhstan, are hailing the brilliant victory of Astana rider, and a team embodying the strength and cosmopolitan will to win. Today, after the world famous bicycle race is over, many people agree Contador has a potential to become a next generation’s Lance Armstrong.

With the Astana team Contador has already won the 2008 Giro d’Italia, the 2008 Vuelta a Espana, the 2009 and 2010 Tour de France. He is the fifth racer in history and the first Spaniard to win all three Grand Tours of road cycling. Contador has been referred to as the best climbing specialist and stage racer in the world, and earned a reputation as an all-rounder, a cyclist who excels in all aspects of stage racing which are needed for high places in the general classification.

Having recently returned to professional cycling, Contador’s renowned teammate and Kazakhstan’s sports idol Alexandre Vinokourov has spared no effort to help his teammate and friend win the 2010 Tour de France. Unmistakably, this year’s Astana team has arrived to the race with 100 percent of its focus set on securing Alberto Contador’s third overall crown.

“I am proud to help Alberto Contador to win his third Tour de France,” Vinokourov said. “Since the outset, our understanding is perfect and without question.”

On this year’s Tour de France, Vino himself gained a tremendous success, having won its 13^th stage on July 17.  “To be in this Tour is a victory, so to win a stage is like a dream,” he said minutes after his breakthrough that day.

Following the overall results of the race, Alberto Contador and Astana team topped the season’s world rankings, released Monday by the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale). Contador and Astana accumulated enough points to win the final standings of the reworked “world ranking” that includes points collected during ProTour and historic events on the UCI racing calendar.

A senior delegation of Kazakh backers for the Team Astana travelled to France for the final stage of the Tour, involving Chairman of JSC “Samruk Kazyna” National Welfare Fund and President of Kazakh Cycling Federation Kairat Kelimbetov. He combined the sports part of his visit with talking to senior French officials. During his meeting with Kelimbetov, Counselor to the French President Jean-David Levitte extended Nicolas Sarkozy’s congratulations to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Rama Yade, France’s Secretary of State for Sport, along with the mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoe, President of Cycling Federation of France David Lappartien, the managers of Tour de France, and other representatives of French sports organizations sent their compliments to Kazakhstan on Contador’s splendid victory, and this year’s success of Astana.

Later in the day, the heads of NWF “Samruk Kazyna”, which is also the main sponsor of Astana team, held a reception in honour of Kazakhstan’s national cycling crew bearing the name of its young and dynamic capital. French mass media, along with social, political and business circles attended the event. Addressing the guests on behalf of Kazakhstan’s leadership, Kelimbetov, in turn, congratulated Astana team’s riders on unprecedented success at the 2010 Tour de France. He said President Nazarbayev paid particular attention to the support of the team, and further development of cycling in Kazakhstan.

“The victory of the Kazakh cycling team at the world’s prestigious race, attracting attention of millions of people around the globe, promotes the image of Astana and raises interest to Kazakhstan in general,” Kelimbetov stressed.

In the meantime, thousands of young cyclists and racers in Kazakhstan, inspired with the Tour de France victory, are yearning to repeat Astana’s success. Striving to represent their country at the world’s top races in the future, the sportsmen have already started training hard in order to improve their racing abilities.

The “Priirtyshiye - 2010” cycling race for young Kazakh cyclists commenced on Monday in the Pavlodar oblast. The latter includes 9-stage individual and team racings with tracks of different length.

“The racing participants are the hope of Kazakhstan for the future championships and Olympic Games. Today’s juniors should replace the Astana team members in the years to come. We have a good roaster of young promising cyclists,” cycling referee Oleg Tussumanov said.

Kazakhstan, Russia to Construct New Nuclear Power Plant in Aktau

Kazakhstan and Russia are establishing a joint venture for constructing a nuclear power plant in Aktau, a centre of Mangystau oblast in West Kazakhstan. Director of the Atomic Energy and Industry Department Mazhit Sharipov announced the news at an extended meeting of the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and High Technologies’ Board on July 23. “The abovementioned countries have already created a joint venture for designing a nuclear power plant, and a feasibility study for this nuclear power plant has also been developed,” Sharipov said.

He said Kazakhstan together with Russia is also preparing a draft intergovernmental agreement on cooperating in designing the nuclear reactor of the “Water block power reactor 300 MW” type and a nuclear plant. President Nazarbayev announced signing an agreement on construction of this nuclear power plant following his meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on July 5.

The decision on constructing a nuclear power plant in Mangystau region resulted from the analysis of the balance of power in Kazakhstan and the prospects of regional development, taking into account the replacement of the capacity of decommissioned energy sources.

The construction of the interstate oil and gas transportation line Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan-Russia-Europe, the development of the tourism cluster in the region, the establishment of the “Aktau City” housing and administrative complex, the growth pressure of the energy sources of Mangystau oblast to 300 MW, will all lead to additional increase of energy sources power till 1200 MW.

In this respect, the region will be in need of a new energy source, which would compensate the outgoing power and ensure the increasing demand for electricity.  The project itself should be implemented in advance so that there would be no electricity shortages in the region.

Kazakhstan has significant potential to develop nuclear energy as it has about 20% of the world’s explored reserves of uranium and its own developed uranium mining and processing industry.

“Kazatomprom” is one of the largest producers of uranium in the world. The company is 100 percent state owned and is a national operator of Kazakhstan’s uranium exports and its compounds. Its principal activities are uranium mining, production of nuclear fuel cycle, reactor industry, and the construction of nuclear power plants.

Kazakh Authorities, NGOs Cooperate on Protecting Labour Migrants’ Rights

The South Kazakhstan Oblast has started implementing a special programme on “Effective management of labour migration in the region”. Kazakhstan’s Presidential Commission on Human Rights and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are responsible for the project, working together with the governments of Russia and Central Asian nations, the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the World Bank, and non-governmental organizations.

On July 15, the Secretariat of the Commission on Human Rights held a roundtable discussion involving the delegates of the abovementioned organizations where they considered various aspects of this joint programme.

According to Tastemir Abishev, the secretariat’s senior figure, the project has great significance for Kazakhstan. The Commission is interested in bringing together the efforts of state authorities and non-governmental sector in enhancing the effective management of labour migration, he stressed.

“Kazakhstan has assumed a number of commitments to protect human rights through the UN and the OSCE and the country is obliged to respect international legal instruments to protect human rights, in particular the rights of migrant workers,” he said.

Amid the global recession, labour migration has become a response of many families in the Central Asian countries facing poverty. The need to earn a living for their families usually forces migrants to work in illegal and exploitative conditions. Women, involved in illegal migration, are the most vulnerable to exploitation and traffic.

The regional programme on regulating labour migration in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan is aimed at observance of migrant workers’ rights, as well as transparency of the labour market.

According to the Migration Police of the South Kazakhstan oblast, the majority of migrant workers, or about 70% of them, come to Kazakhstan from Uzbekistan and most of them are working legally.

“However, there are cases of illegal employment of foreigners. And often their rights in such circumstances are at risk,” Abishev stresses.

The observance of the legislation in the recruitment of foreign workers is usually a responsibility of local executive authorities and police. The public organizations also play considerable role in implementing this program. In particular, the NGO “The Legal Centre for Women’s Initiatives “Sana Sezim” (Kazakh for “Self-Consciousness”) has a solid experience in working with guest workers.

According to Khadija Abysheva, head of “Sana Sezim”, labour migrants, who come to work in Kazakhstan, often violate the country’s legislation. This applies to the rules of residence and presence in the territory of Kazakhstan, border crossing, as well as the nation’s Labour Code.

In this respect, the NGO has initiated an awareness campaign among potential labour migrants, as well as provision of legal employment for migrants. Right on the Kazakh-Uzbek border the volunteers are ready to advise on the rules of residence, registration, the possibility of non-payment of wages by disrespectful employers, and drawing up employment contracts.

Mutual cooperation and exchange of information with the Tashkent-based NGO “Istiqbolli Avlod” help “Sana Sezim” confront human trafficking since the majority of illegal migrants, coming to the South Kazakhstan, are from Uzbekistan.

The round table participants called for the speedy development of tools of effective management of labour migration at the regional level. Moreover, in their view, the law on migration of population needs an improvement, and there is still no legal status of guest workers.

The programme in question pursues a noble aim: to accelerate the implementation of international standards on labour migration, develop a support centre for migrants, and strengthen international dialogue in the framework of a regional organization, such as the Eurasian Economic Community (EurasEC), which will coordinate the dialogue on labour migration on the intergovernmental level. Particular attention will be paid to protecting migrants’ rights and their socio-economic status. The programme covers both men and women, and their families.

Burabay: Beautiful Lakes, Emerald Forests, Fresh Air, Comfortable Hotels

“When God created the world, one people was bestowed large woods, green fields and wide rivers, another people got beautiful mountains and blue lakes. But the Kazakh people got only deserts and steppes. It hurt the Kazakhs’ feelings and they asked the Creator to give them a particle of the wonderful nature. And God scratched from the bottom of his bag and threw in the middle of lifeless steppe the remnants of the picturesque mountain cliffs and lakes with crystal-clear bluish water, distributed with his generous hand emerald meadows covered with flowers, springs and merrily murmuring brooks. He covered the mountains with a colorful carpet of different trees and bushes, abounded the forests with animals and birds, lakes with fish and meadows with insects and butterflies, which cannot be found in the steppes one hundred miles around. Thus, Burabay came to light”.

This legend tells a story of the mysterious origin of Burabay (Borovoye), one of the country’s best-known resort areas. Its unique landscape of lakes, hills, weathered granite outcrops and pine and birch forests offers amazingly picturesque scenery, and is therefore called “Kazakhstan’s Switzerland” or “the pearl of Kazakhstan”.

Named, since August 2000, the Burabay National Nature Park, the western boundary of this landscape is formed by the boomerang-shaped Kokshetau Mountains, with its highest peak of Blue Mountain (Sinukha), running roughly from north to south.

The Blue Mountain does indeed take on that hue when viewed from afar across the surrounding steppe. The Kokshetau Mountains are covered with forests which continue across the lower hills lying to their east. Around the foothills of the mountains lie several lakes, of which most of the area’s tourist infrastructure lies along the shores of Lake Shortandy (the Pike Lake) and Lake Burabay. The water in both lakes is soft, and one can see their deepest bottom.

Precious gifts of nature are generously scattered around the Burabay area. Among them is the Okzhetpes cliff (“Inaccessible even to Arrows”) with a peak, resembling an elephant calf, and the Zhumbaktas cliff (“Riddle-stone”) similar to a mysterious sphinx with fearless features.

The area already attracts large numbers of domestic tourists and visitors from those parts of Russia abutting Kazakhstan’s border, as well as from more distant abroad. Nevertheless, today there are ambitious plans to develop tourism further, given Burabay’s location is the natural weekend playground for the growing new capital of Astana.

Since April 2007, the district in which Burabay is located has been one of only two in Kazakhstan in which gambling establishments have been permitted by law, as the authorities set about ridding Kazakhstan’s cities of casinos and moving them out into new purpose-built resorts.

The gateway to the Burabay resort area is the district capital, Shchuchinsk, a small town of 42,000 people close to the southern shores of Lake Shchuchie (Shortandy, both meaning the Pike Lake). It lies on both the main road and the railway between Astana and Kokshetau, around 235 kilometres north of the Kazakh capital and 72 kilometres to the southeast of a regional centre of Kokshetau.

Shchuchinsk railway station is a stop for daily departures between Almaty and Petropavlovsk, Kyzylorda and Petropavlovsk, and Qaraghandy and Kostanai. There are also less frequent trains to Pavlodar, as well as Russian destinations including Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Omsk. More local electric train routes include a daily service running between Kokshetau and Yermentau. There is also a useful service between Astana and Kokshetau, running four times a week (Saturday-Tuesday), which involves departure from Astana at 7.00 a.m. and arrival back to the capital at 22.50 in the evening. This does make it possible to visit Borovoye as a day trip by rail from Astana.

The bus station stands in front of the railway station and there are departures every few minutes to Kokshetau and Astana. From the bus station, the village of Burabay is around 30 kilometres. There are several buses a day, running between 06.00 a.m. and 06.20 p.m. from Shchuchinsk bus station to Burabay and private minibuses available for little more.

In addition, the fast increasing number of sanatoriums, hotels and guesthouses of the Burabay resort area provides a good range of facilities and reasonable services to clients.

Okzhetpes Sanatorium is an idyllic setting amidst birch and pine woods close to the Blue Bay. It is a smart Soviet-era sanatorium, renovated by the Italian oil company ENI in 2002. The main block is a 7-storey building, with a number of various attached blocks, housing more rooms, a fitness centre, sports hall, swimming pool and a medical treatment block.

Park Hotel Kokshetau is located at the bottom of Kokshetau Mountains, on the coast of the Shchuchie Lake, and provides all necessary conditions for having a rest from noise and fuss of the city. Exclusiveness of the Park Hotel is defined by its location in the picturesque corner of the resort, and its modern facilities, ensuring comfortable recreation and ability to enjoy the nature. The hotel is built and furnished in accordance with the international standards of the 4-star category hotels.

Hotel Samal is located in the northeast corner of Lake Shchuchie, on the other side of the road from the lake. The hotel consists of a group of several modern buildings clustered together, and offering a wide range of services.

A number of other facilities to have a good stay at Burabay resort area include the Edem, Samal, Kokshebel, Gloria, Nursat, Zhansaya hotels, and Zelenyi Bor and Zheke Batyr sanatoriums.

Also in the News:

·         In January-June 2010, Kazakhstan’s GDP has increased by 8% compared to the same period last year, Minister of Economic Development and Trade Zhanar Aitzhanova said on Tuesday. According to the government’s latest forecasts, the country will see a 4% GDP growth this year. In addition, the state’s tax revenues amounted to 1,260 trillion tenge, having increased by 223.7 billion tenge (22%). As stated by the Minister of Finance Bolat Zhamishev, the corporate income tax has surpassed the expected 370.1 billion tenge, and accounted for 375 billion tenge, whereas the amount of  value added tax has reached nearly 303.1 billion tenge, exceeding initial expectations by 6,4%.

·         In the first half of 2010, the volume of foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan has exceeded US$ 5.2 billion, having increased by 53% in comparison with the same period last year, the country’s Ministry of Industry and New Technologies reported last Friday. Investment in the country’s non-oil and gas sector have accounted for US$ 1.25 billion, which is twice the amount of the corresponding figure last year. According to the ministry, in 2009 Kazakhstan attracted foreign investment totalling US$ 18.4 billion. Overall, major investors in the Kazakh economy are the Netherlands (US$ 20.3 billion), USA (US$ 20 billion), UK ($US 9.3 billion), France (US$ 6.2 billion) and Italy (US$ 4.9 billion).

·         The Head of the Financial Supervision Agency, Yelena Bakhmutova said Kazakhstan’s financial institutions have reduced their dependency on overseas funding from 53% of their capital before the financial crisis started in 2007 to 29% today. Growing domestic deposits are replacing the “external sources” of funding, she said. Bakhmutova noted “the 29% figure is within the threshold range that’s considered safe”. The growth in deposits reflects public confidence in the government’s handling of the financial crisis, she contended. It also shows government efforts to stimulate deposits are working, she said.

·         By 2020, Kazakhstan plans to increase production of coal by almost 45% up to 145 million tonnes, Director of Electricity and Coal Industry Department of the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and New Technologies Zhakyp Bokenbayev said on Friday. “The department is finishing the development of the draft plan for Kazakhstan’s coal industry till 2015-2020, which aims to increase its coal production from 99 million tonnes in 2010 up to 128 million tonnes in 2015 and 145 million tonnes in 2020,” he said. The expected level of investment in the coal industry exceeds US$ 4.1 billion, including US$ 2.5 billion to be directed to the development of met coal and US$ 1.6 for power generating coal. One of the initiative’s goals is to provide coal for investment projects implemented within Kazakhstan’s programme of accelerated industrial and innovative development.

·         In January-June 2010, the volume of crude oil transported to China through the Kazakh-Chinese pipeline has amounted to 5 million tonnes, having increased by more than 50% in comparison with the same period last year, Xinhua News Agency reported on July 26. As stated by the Boertala-Mongol autonomous region, Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region, over the first six month of 2010, nearly 4.97 billion tonnes of crude oil have been imported to the country, which is 54.7% more than the same figure last year. The Kazakh-Chinese pipeline and China’s first transnational oil pipeline with the total length exceeding 1,200 kilometres to the west, starts in Atassu (Kazakhstan) and ends in the east in Dushanzi (Xinjiang) near the largest petrochemical base of China. The pipeline was put into operation in July 2006.

·         France has provided extensive humanitarian assistance amounting to 30,000 Euros to Kazakhstan’s Kyzyl-Agash village, Almaty oblast, which was severely hit by the flood earlier this year. According to the statement of the French Embassy to Kazakhstan last Friday, it transferred the money to the account of “Zhansugirov Fund”. The money will be used for financing liquefied gas supply to 560 houses of Kyzyl-Agash, and for the purchase of new gas stoves for the village residents. The Embassy said the agreement on allocating resources was made in April this year during the visit of head of the French Senate Finance Committee Jean Arthuis to Astana.

·         “Total”, French oil and gas company, will provide a grant in the amount of 60,000 Euros to the Kazakh Public Administration Academy under the President of Kazakhstan. The corresponding agreement was signed on Monday in Astana, the Academy’s press service reported on July 26. “The grant is aimed at training government officials from the remote regions, and covers the cost of training 10 public servants, including the graduate studying, “state and local public administration” specialty, hotel accommodation and internship in the local government agencies,” Academy’s President Aryn Orsariyev said. The grant’s holders will also have a chance to undertake an internship in the French National Public Administration School, Paris’ Sorbonne University and Science Pro University of Political Science, he noted.

·         The Kostanai diesel plant has started assembly of Ssang Yong off-road vehicles with South Korean experts helping to manufacture 12 vehicles by the end of July, President of JSC “Agromash Holdin” Oleg Tsoi informed on July 26. In his words, the project is a joint initiative of “Agromash Holding”, Allur Auto Company, and South Korean automobile producer Ssang Yong Corporation. “Thousand cars are to be made before the end of the year, gradually increasing the volume of output up to 7,500 items per year. Mass production will start in August, once the assembly line is installed and a hundred vehicle sets are shipped from South Korea to Kazakhstan,” Oleg Tsoi said.

·         Andrey Golubev has won his first title in the International German Open in Hamburg, beating Austrian Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 7-5 on Sunday. Golubev, who did not lose a set last week, became the first player from Kazakhstan to win an ATP World Tour title and the third first-time winner this season, joining American John Isner and Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis. “I’m very happy to win my first title, especially here in Hamburg on a clay-court,” Golubev said. “I never expected my first title would be on clay. I played very well from the baseline. In the important points I played very good. I think the most important thing this week was that I believed in myself, I believed in my game, my forehand and backhand.”

·         On July 23, at Tachi Palace Casino in the US Californian town of Lemoore, light heavyweight Beibut Shumenov of Kazakhstan retained his WBA title for the first time with unanimous decision victory over Vyacheslav Uzelkov. Right before the closing bell of the first round Uzelkov landed a solid left hook to the head that sent Shumenov to the canvas scoring the first knockdown of the fight. Shumenov had a good second round appearing to redeem himself from the abrupt first round attack. After twelve rounds Shumenov was declared the winner via marks of 118-108, 118-108, and 117-109. Beibut Shumenov improved his record to 10-1 (6) while Uzelkov suffered his first defeat and fell to 22-1 (14).

Things to Watch:

• The Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Kazakhstan will present an official tourist site www.visitkazakhstan.kz  on July 30 in Astana. The main goal of the project is to introduce Kazakhstan as the new tourist destination and provide help for foreigners heading off to the country. The site will contain information on sightseeing, tours, as well as on-line hotel reservation service, and hourly updated news.
• On July 30-31, the First International Livestock Forum “KazMeat & Milk 2010” will take place in Astana. Leading producers of meat and diary products from Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Europe will gather to discuss issues of attracting investments into the industry. Representatives of the World Bank and World Food Programme are expected to partake in the event. A conference of meat producers will also be held as part of the forum.
• On July 28, FC Aktobe hosts their Israeli opponents Hapoel of Tel Aviv in the 3^rd round of qualifications to the UEFA Champions League 2010-11. The return leg in the Middle East is to take place on August 3.

ASTANA CALLING is a bi-weekly online publication of
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
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